Govt plans one card for travel across India

[Sidhu...Sidhaarth Roy]

Soon you may be able to travel across the country carrying just a swipe card that can be used for all modes of transport. If plans by the Union Urban Development Ministry are successful, the common transport card, or 'Common Mobility Card'/ 'India Mobility Card', will be a reality by next year.

"These cards will function essentially as e-purses. What this means is that the money will be on the card - these can be swiped and the value would be automatically deducted," a senior Ministry official said. This would hence obviate the need to buy tickets.

These cards would cover all forms of transport, including buses, trains, metros, ferries, taxis and even autorickshaws. The only sector that the ministry has not included in its India Mobility Card project is air travel.

While the cards will be introduced in chosen cities across various states to begin with, officials say that the goal is to have a single ticketing system tying the country. Work on the concept began a year ago.


Apart from cards, the ministry is planning to give people the option of electronic chips, which they can buy and install in their mobile phones. "The money will then be deducted directly from the mobile phone, and anyone can recharge the amount as simply as they would do for cellular services," said the official.

Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore and Mumbai have already been chosen for the launch. "We are in the process of talking to the state governments to figure out how this can be done," the official said.

[2pac]

This is just like the the "SMART TRIP" card which is effective  Maryland.  The card contains prepaid money and whenever you swipes, it just deducts the amount of fare. ( Nice Idea...) ^^" ^^" ^^" ^^"